"Cough cough cough... You bunch of bastards, how dare you throw me into the rubble..." Holding his severed arm, Syura, covered in dust and blood, cursed furiously.
"Luckily, my arm isn't lost. Dorothea's alchemy should be able to reattach it. Dorothea! Izou! Where the hell did you bastards go?! Guards! Get your asses over here..."
As his filthy curses filled the air, Selene watched the brown-skinned man with mild amusement, asking knowingly, "So this is Syura..."
Though she had never met him before, his dark skin, the two massive crossed scars on his face, and that arrogant, bloodthirsty demeanor could only belong to one person—the son of Honest, Syura.
"Y-yes, my lady," Dorothea stammered, standing respectfully beside Selene, hardly daring to breathe.
"Good. Then let him join Honest. A crime that condemns nine generations shouldn't spare the son, should it?"
At that moment, Syura also noticed Selene and Dorothea. Swaying unsteadily, he shouted, "Damn it! Dorothea! Didn't you hear me calling you?! Hurry up and reattach my arm! I, the great Syura—"
Clang!
Immediately after, shrrk!—before Syura's stunned eyes, the remaining half of his upper arm, along with his shoulder, was severed clean off. Blood gushed forth like an open fountain.
"Aaaah—!" As the searing pain struck his brain, Syura's face twisted grotesquely.
"It seems you don't quite understand your situation," Selene said coldly.
Syura screamed in agony, "You bitch! You damned woman! Do you know who I am?!"
"How dare you! You—you actually—aaaah!!" He raged incoherently, his face distorted like that of a demon.
Through his howls—whoosh!—a purple Taiji pattern appeared under his feet. Though cruel and arrogant, Syura was no fool. Realizing he couldn't win, he relied on brute stubbornness to fight back.
"You just wait! One day, I'll kill you! I'll tear you to pieces and feed your flesh to the dogs!"
With his only remaining arm, Syura activated his Teigu: Dimensional Formation · Shambhala—the reason behind his arrogance. With this space-warping Teigu, he could move freely across dimensions.
But then...
Vmmm—
"Huh?! What?! Why am I still here?! Shambhala—why didn't it take me away?!" The light flared—but nothing happened. Syura's sneering face froze in disbelief.
A heartbeat later, he felt his wrist go light. Glancing down, he realized Shambhala was gone.
And before him, Selene stood calmly, idly twirling the Teigu in her hand.
"Spatial Lockdown. You see, space... is my domain."
At her words, Syura froze, then lunged toward her with a snarl. "Give me back Shambhala!"
The next instant, he was flung backward—struck by Dorothea.
"Cough cough... Dorothea, you treacherous bitch!"
Dorothea said nothing. Her face was blank as she sank her teeth into Syura's wrist.
"You—you dare—" Before he could finish, Syura's robust frame began to shrivel rapidly before Selene's eyes, his strength leaving him until he collapsed like a deflated carcass.
Under Selene's calm gaze, Dorothea knelt respectfully before her.
"Very good. Your loyalty is noted."
"Here's your task: cut off Syura's limbs and imprison him with Honest. Keep him alive—for now. I have use for him."
"Yes, my lady!"
"Go." With that, Selene tossed Shambhala into her storage space and turned toward the Emperor's bedchamber.
Walking down the grand corridor, Selene's enhanced hearing picked up every sound in the distance—the crack of ice explosions, the rumble of thunder, the roars of battle, and the cries of girls... each distinct and clear.
In that moment, her excitement only grew. "This performance... should come to an end."
Pressing a finger lightly to her temple, she spoke softly, "Liver, it's me... I'm authorizing you now. Deploy the Imperial Guard Legion. Lock down the entire Imperial Capital."
"Alex... yes, the Night Raid extermination mission is reactivated. Eliminate all Night Raid members and every Revolutionary soldier outside the Imperial Capital."
"Hmm? Akame insists on joining the operation? Fine, granted... Oh, right—how's Cornelia? Recuperating... understood. Proceed with the operation."
...
"Great General!" As Selene walked slowly into the palace, the surrounding eunuchs immediately dropped to their knees.
Suppressing her urge to smile, Selene kept a straight face and asked calmly, "Where is His Majesty?"
"Great General, His Majesty... His Majesty has passed away!" The lead eunuch guided Selene into the royal bedchamber. Once inside, he fell heavily to his knees before the throne and pointed at a small body wrapped in luxurious silk. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he cried, "His Majesty has been assassinated!"
"What?! His Majesty is dead?!" Selene exclaimed in shock—her expression convincingly that of disbelief.
"A thief disguised himself as Minister Honest and tricked us out of the chamber! While we were gone, the imposter assassinated His Majesty!" The eunuch's wailing voice cracked with grief.
"Sigh..." Hearing this, Selene let out a long, heavy sigh before shaking her head and walking out of the palace hall.
Although she managed to keep herself from smirking, her behavior was already far from proper—and, by court standards, borderline treasonous.
According to ceremonial protocol, when a subject pays respects to a deceased emperor, they must perform the full ritual—three kneels and nine kowtows.
Selene, however, merely stood and sighed.
Of course, no one dared to say anything. Even the eunuchs understood that the Young Emperor's death meant the extinction of the First Emperor's direct bloodline. The Empire was now leaderless—and on the verge of upheaval.
As Selene reached the charred palace gates—still blackened from Great General Budo's thunderous blast—she turned and commanded, "Guard His Majesty's body... ahem, the Imperial remains. Those traitors—don't let a single one escape!"
Crackle... Kzzzt—BOOOM!!
Just as she stepped through the gates, a deafening bolt of lightning split the clouds above. The thunder snaked wildly across the heavens, illuminating the night sky with blinding brilliance. The sound was so immense that rippling shockwaves spread outward through the air over the entire palace.
Looking up at the stormy sky shrouded in layers of thunderclouds, Selene frowned slightly. "Summoning the Advent of Thunder Emperor? Budo's losing his temper, it seems."
"The one who disguised himself as Honest should've been Chelsea using Gaea Foundation, right? Against a small fry like that... was it really necessary to go all out? Hmph, well... understandable. With the Young Emperor dead, Budo has every reason to vent his fury."
Suddenly—Vrrrmmm—BOOM!
A pillar of orange light, dozens of meters wide, erupted straight into the sky.
Selene arched an eyebrow. "Ah, Pumpkin, is it? Budo... looks like fate's finally come for you."